UGC Clariont Flag.	CONSTELLATION-Class Battleship.		UGC Clariont Flag.
Dorsal Port Bow Aspect. CONSTELLATION-Class Battleship; Bow, Dorsal/Ventral, And Portside Aspects. The CONSTELLATION-Class Battleships are the REF's newest class of capital ships, designed for a slugging match with other capital ships. However, as the designator BB indicates, they are BATTLESHIPS, not Fighter Carriers, and as such only carry 05 FS-01 Spacer Space Fighters for observation and scouting; These would normally be replaced with small, unmanned pods instead if jamming were not an issue. (The fighter bay "can" actually accommodate as many as 20 aero-space fighters, but the ships are only billeted and rated to 05, with a sixth added by Fleet Commander's discretion on occasion.) The main weapons of the CONSTELLATION-Class is their batteries of 06 Rail Launchers (See Weapons Systems, number 1). These provide more firepower than any vessel of similar size has ever before provided. The CONSTELLATION-Class ARE atmosphere-combat capable, and in fact can land a force of about 1,000 Marines under heavy fire if necessary, remaining on-station as close fire support. Although this is generally referred to as a waste of capabilities, since the ships can strike the same target from orbit and still fly anti-relief cover ("using a battleship as a tank"), the concept remains plausible just the same. To date, this has occurred once, during the relief of Uridane on Sedgewick, and has not been nor is likely to be repeated. The original ships of this class were not quite bilaterally symmetrical; The upper hull flared out slightly from the lower hull, creating the "saucepan" look. The UGC recently authorized a conversion to smooth out the sides for a fully bilateral symmetrical profile, with the additional spaces added to the lower hull being converted to additional crew berthing and crew survivability machinery spaces. The CONSTELLATION-Class is actually a variant on a much older design from the Clingohn Alliance, which had in turn inherited them from another empire, the Federation Of Planets, when that empire collapsed under multiple threats. The sips in question were the Ambassador-Class, itself a variation on the Saucer/Engineering/FTL Nacelle design commonly referred to as the "Space Eagle" configuration. The CONSTELLATION-Class was re-aligned to a stronger hull configuration, where the "head" was fitted directly over the engineering hull, making response faster and hull integrity more robust, as the "neck" had been removed. On the "Space Eagle" configuration, only one pair of FTL nacelles were installed, these on flimsy wing-like outriggers that were attached to the engineering hull. For the CONSTELLATION-Class, a singly, much shorter and fatter outrigger stretching from the engineering hull to a cross member which reached out to attach the FTL nacelles. This gave them much greater structural integrity and doubled the thrust systems, so that if a pair were taken off line (as could easily happen in a dynamic environment battle, such as in space) there would still be a pair on-line. A pair of T'sentraedi-style heavy laser turrets were installed, one ventral and one dorsal, with an early version of the L-22/35 Rail Launcher as the main weapons systems. Another rail launcher designed for space fighters was installed pointing to the stern; This one was actually quite a bit bigger than necessary, Being originally conceived for a QUILTRA DRAENITZS-Class Cruiser, until it was realized the CONSTELLATION-Class was simply too small to do that job and the idea was abandoned. The tunnel that would have been the Cruiser Bay was reconfigured as a fighter bay, with the Spacer Space Fighter being envisioned first, then re-configured to the Spacer II Space Fighter when the Spacer Space Fighters were refitted with missile packs. There are CONSTELLATION-Class configured for other types of fighters as well, including two, UGS HUNTER and UGS STALKER, configured for atmospheric fighters (HUNTER exclusively carries the F/A18 Hornet Fighter, while STALKER carries a combination of F/A-18 Hornet Fighters, F/A-22 Raptor Stealth Fighters, F-4U Corsair Fighter, and 01 B-25 Mitchell III Bomber, with the recent addition of 01 de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito as part of the testing and evaluation process- the crew reports the Mosquito is a good plane, but difficult to launch from the ship, and it probably won't be staying; no explanation why the Mitchell III isn't difficult to launch has yet been offered.) Note: The IKAZUCHI-Class is scheduled to remain in service as a Fighter Carrier; The advent of the CONSTELLATION-Class is not planned, intended, or capable, of relieving the IKAZUCHIS of this duty. Name: REF CONSTELLATION-Class Battleship Model Type: Battleship Crew: 100 Passengers: Another 250 can be accomadated. MDC By Location:
Main Hull- Bridge- External Hatches (about 150)-	10,000 1,000 150 each	Internal Hatches (up to 10,000)- Fighter Hanger Doors (5)- Thrusters (10)-	100 each 500 each 10,000 each
Speed and Statistical Data:
Spacefold: Equipped. FTL: Factor 10 Cruising Speed: Mach 20 In Atmosphere: Mach 20 Clearance: 2,000 feet Beam: 1,500 feet Length: 200,000 feet Weight: 20 million tons Cargo: 50,000 tons		Power Systems: Primary: AMRS-1,O02 (Anti-Matter) Lifespan: 200 years. Secondary: Solar Sails Lifespan: Unlimited, but can not achieve FTL; Used for station keeping in system. Tertiary: Emergency Batteries 20,000 Lifespan: 10,000 hours on emergency power status. Cost and Availability: 100 million credits; Extremely rare. Black Market: Not available; Even re-habed T'sentraedi warships are worth more, and not NEARLY as expensive. The REF can't even sell reclaimed ones as warehouses, and are forced to scrap them out (at a cost of some 80,000 credits).
Weapons Systems:
1. Automated Rail Missile Launcher Battery (06): 06 "Rail Launchers" are positioned at strategic locations around the hull, giving a complete 360 degree coverage of fire. The weapons launch what is, essentially, an LRM in the body of an MRM. The warheads preferred by ship commanders are High-Explosive, though Reflex are often used as well. The redesign of the system to use an electromagnetic rail gun system provides an INCREDIBLE rate of fire, while the relatively compact size increases payload. This system is scheduled to fully replace ALL missile launcher systems eventually. Missile Type: Effectively any MRM or LRM. Purpose: Anti-Ship. MD: Varies by type used. Note: The size of the warhead has no bering on the size of the engine. Effective Range: 18,000 miles. Note: Though the missile has FAR less engine, it still has GREATER range. Rate of Fire: TEN times per melee. Payload: Up to 100,000. 2. T'sentraedi Style Heavy Laser (2): Still a highly effective design, it is an REF standard weapon throughout the fleet. Each CONSTELLATION-Class Battleship carries 02 of these turrets, one dorsal, one ventral. MD: 1D4 times 100 per blast. Rate of Fire: Twice per melee. Range: 200,000 miles. Payload: Unlimited.		3. 30 Missile Turrets Scattered across the ship. The turrets are nomally concealed within the ship's hull, but rise up when needed to attack the enemy. Each turret can rotate 360° with a 180° arc of fire. Missile Types: Any type of Long Range Missile can be used. Reflex missiles are commonly used to avoid hitting friendly aircraft. MD and Range: Varies. Rate Of Fire: Each turret can fire one missile once per melee. Payload: Effectively unlimited (hundreds of missiles). 4. Defensive Laser Batteries (200): Each vessel has at least 200 defensive laser batteries for anti-missile and meteorite defense. MD: 5D6 per blast. Rate of Fire: Per gunners attacks per melee plus bonuses (generally 4 or 5 per melee). Range: 500 feet. Payload: Unlimited. 5. Ships, Fighters, Power Armor, and Robots: Shuttles- 01 Any type, though typically it will be a ROIL TILUVO-Class Assault Corvette or ROIL LIHINAL-Class Gunboat. Space Fighters- 05 (mostly for scout and spotting duties).
Features:
ESM: Radar Detector. Passively detects other radars being operated. Radar: Combat grade radar. Range 100 miles, can track up to 50 individual targets. 95% reliability (24% against unfriendly stealthed vehicles). Blue Force Tracker: Identifies friend from foe. Overlays the information on both the radar and HUD, ensuring that friendly forces are not accidentally targeted. GPS: Standard tracking device. Ties into the Blue Force Tracker. Anti-Jamming System: Reduces Electronics Countermeasure by 89% (decrease skill level appropriately). HUD: Displays maps, radar, targeting information, and any OTHER information the wearer wants directly in front of the user. One is located at each weapons control station, and another makes up the majority of the bridge.		FLIR/SLIR: Forward and Side Looking Infrared. Allows pilot to get visuals on targets at night. Virtual Map: Displays a continuously-updating map of local terrain for the bridge. Takes data from and gives data to other friendly units in the area. Effective navigation of 85% as updates come. Good to 500 miles. Specific range can be adjusted in 10,000 mile increments. 1 MC: Internal loudspeaker. Video Camera: Records from the HUD. 5,000 hours of recording available. Full range optic sensory suite: Infrared, ultra violet, Magnification, night sight, color filters, thermal imager.Range: about 200 miles for MOST sensors. Escape Pods: As many as 45 20-man pods, though only 30 10-man pods are required under law.
Combat Bonuses from CONSTELLATION-Class Battleship Combat Elite: 2 additional attacks per melee. Three additional attacks per melee. One additional attack per melee at levels 3, 6, and 9 with any additional bonuses for the crew. +4 Initiative. +5 entangle/snare/grab, Parry, Dodge, and Roll. +5 dodge.